Genetie "Les Pilliers", AOP Macon-Charnay-Les-Macon, Maconnais, Burgundy, France, 2024

Grape: 100% Chardonnay, limestone soil, hand & machine picked, malolactic with lees' ageing, unoaked

Producer Tasting Note:

Immediately appealing with good depth of flavour and underlying finesse that provides wonderful length and unfolding flavours - think of freshly cut hay and meadowsweet for the nose, crunchy greengages for the palate, and some candied peel / lemongrass for the final notes.

Winemaking: Plots within the Mâcon-Charnay-lès-Mâcon appellation lie on the higher slopes of the Mont du Mâconnais, where soils are varied but limestone is prevalent. Here Chardonnay ripens under a Continental climate (typically cold winters followed by warm springs and almost Mediterranean sun in the summer). Once ripe, picking is both by hand and machine. Machine harvesting has the advantage of picking in the early hours of the morning before daylight when the temperature rises; hand picking is gentler and keeps whole bunches intact. After pressing and static settling the must is cooled to around 12°C to ensure a controlled fermentation. Once alcoholic fermentation is complete, wines are left to winter and undergo malolactic fermentation. With enviable priority access to the cellar in Mâcon-Charnay, winemaker Samantha Bailey (Maison Boutinot) tastes each individual tank (up to 20) to select a very personalised blend for GENETIE 'Les Piliers', combining three essential elements - the florals, the exotic and the mineral. The final blend is kept on fine lees until bottling, combining the warmth of southern Burgundy with the elegance and finesse of the special terroir of Mâcon-Charnay-lès-Mâcon.

Food Match: An extremely versatile wine that can be enjoyed alone or with food – delicious alongside grilled fish (pan-fried snapper), chicken in cream sauce (poulet à la crème), asparagus and mushroom risotto, fish chowder, a traditional roast chicken with all the trimmings, pork loin, or even a cheese platter - particularly goats cheese